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WHY MATTER! TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE Transportation and infrastructure are critical components that support the economies of our counties and improve the standard of living for all . By providing efficient transportation and transit options such as buses, trains, light rail and subway systems, counties are the driving force connecting communities. Counties invest in building the schools where students learn, the hospitals that treat and provide care to the community and the jails that house and rehabilitate wrongdoers. From cleaning up storm debris and restoring safety to the community to cleaning the water we drink by maintaining reservoirs, purification plants and pumping stations, counties provide the basic services that are often taken for granted.

Services include: Ù Transit Ù Water and sewage COUNTIES INVEST Ù Roads systems Ù Bridges Ù Solid waste $52.3 Ù Airports management BILLION Ù Construction of public Ù Utilities like gas facilities and electricity in construction of public facilities annually COUNTIES ARE INVOLVED IN THE OPERATION OF of public 30% airports

COUNTIES OWN 230,690 bridges COUNTIES INVEST $106.3 BILLION COUNTIES OWN AND MAINTAIN IN BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE of America’s AND MAINTAINING AND OPERATING 45% roads PUBLIC WORKS ANNUALLY

COUNTIES ARE INVOLVED COUNTIES INVEST $18.6 BILLION in 27% in sewage and solid of public waste management transit annually systems HEALTHCARE Counties create support systems to keep you healthy from the time you are born until the time you grow old. Many counties operate hospitals and health facilities that provide clinical services, cancer and cardiac care, and emergency and trauma care. nursing homes offer restorative care and rehabilitation, and promote quality of life and wellness to the elderly. From preventative measures like administering flu shots to educating the public with health information, county health departments ensure the everyday health of their residents.

Services include: Ù Hospitals Ù Testing services COUNTIES SUPPORT Ù Nursing homes Ù Indigent healthcare Ù Behavioral and mental Ù Health code inspections HOSPITALS WITH A TOTAL 976 healthcare Ù Health clinics OF 100,378 BEDS THAT Ù Immunizations Ù SERVE MORE MILLION THAN 15 PATIENT DAYS COUNTIES INVEST

COUNTIES ARE INVOLVED in promoting $69.7 public health BILLION through more than for community health and 1,550 local hospitals annually COUNTIES OWN health departments 692 nursing homes, which represent 75% of the publicly owned nursing homes COUNTIES INVEST $70.2 BILLION TOTAL in justice and public safety services annually, of which ...

THERE ARE 3,105 and sheriffs $30.2 BILLION departments IS SPENT ON JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE AND SHERIFFS Counties keep communities safe, DEPARTMENTS by providing law enforcement and MILLION promoting crime prevention. From BILLION 11.6 patrolling and policing the streets, to $23.3 people were IS SPENT ON operating and maintaining county admitted to detention facilities, to serving as the CORRECTIONAL arm of the county courts, county FACILITIES county and other sheriffs and police departments are local jails in 2012 the linchpin of the criminal justice system. The other key players in the system are judges, attorneys, public defenders, court clerks, jail directors and .

Criminal justice components include: Ù Sheriffs departments Ù County police departments Ù systems $16.7 BILLION Ù Jails and correctional facilities IS SPENT ON Ù Juvenile detention and COUNTY COURTS justice services Ù District attorneys AND LEGAL Ù Public defenders SERVICES Ù Coroners ANNUALLY COUNTY MANAGEMENT Counties provide vital services to all Americans, from issuing birth certificates and marriage licenses to operating 911 call centers. Counties often build and maintain the , swimming pools, community centers and cultural centers where you spend time with family and friends. Counties are responsible for running elections, EVERY TWO YEARS, from presidential to local. While balancing COUNTIES FUND AND numerous administrative responsibilities, OVERSEE MORE THAN counties deliver essential services to ensure safe, healthy and resilient communities for their 167,000 residents. polling places Services include: Ù Record keeping Ù Recreation and parks Ù Tax assessments Ù Arts programs Ù 911 call centers Ù Housing, community Ù Elections and and economic polling places development THERE ARE ALMOST AND COORDINATE 39,000 MORE THAN total county elected officials. 704,000 711 poll workers are elected county executives

ANNUALLY, COUNTIES INVEST BILLION $25.5 COUNTIES INVEST into economic development $9.3 BILLION to build and maintain parks and recreational facilities annually NACo — BRINGING UNITY TO THE DIVERSITY OF AMERICA’S COUNTIES The nation’s 3,069 county governments provide the essential services to create healthy, vibrant, and safe communities. Counties support and maintain public infrastructure, transportation and economic development assets; keep residents healthy; ensure public safety to protect our citizens; maintain public information and coordinate elections; and implement a broad array of federal, state and local programs in a cost-effective and efficient manner. People depend on counties to provide services that build, maintain, and protect their homes, schools and neighborhoods. Counties are also an instrumental player in America’s intergovernmental system of federal, state, and local governments. NACo members support state and federal policies and programs that provide the tools, resources, and solutions needed to spur job growth, improve the quality of life for all Americans, and increase the economic competitiveness of America’s counties and communities. To accomplish this, NACo adheres to a set of core principles through its core functions.

NACo’s CORE PRINCIPLES

Empower county leaders with new skills, resources and ideas

Assist counties with first-class, cost-effective services

Provide timely, informative and value-added data, knowledge and programs

Promote sound public policies that advance the interests of counties

Exercise sound stewardship and management of NACo's financial, intellectual, and human resources

Enhance the public's understanding of county government

NACo’s CORE FUNCTIONS

Legislative, regulatory, and judicial representation in the nation’s capital

Research

Education & technical assistance

Cost-saving programs

Solutions for critical problems

Innovative programs that meet future county needs THE DIVERSITY OF COUNTIES

No two counties are exactly the same. Counties are one of America’s oldest forms of government, dating back to 1634 when the first county governments were established in . Ever since, county governments continue to evolve and adapt to changing environments and populations, with Petersburg , , incorporating as recently as 2013. Counties are diverse in the way they are structured and how they deliver services to their communities. States decide counties’ roles and responsibilities. States can allow counties to govern themselves by granting them home rule authority, which gives counties varying degrees of power to decide their own structural, functional and fiscal organization. Counties’ demographic, geographic and economic characteristics dictate how they deliver services to their communities. The organization and structure of counties are tailored to fit their communities’ needs and characteristics.

Service to 38,968 $482.1 3.3 305 total county elected BILLION MILLION MILLION officials total expenditures county employees county residents annually

County invests $18.9 billion annually — or more than 23 of our state governments each year.  If Cook County, Ill., were a state, it would be bigger than 30 states in population.  Almost 70 percent of counties have less than 50,000 residents.  One in four acres of county land is federally owned. In the West, one in two acres of county land is federally owned.

WWW.NACO.ORG/COUNTIESMATTER NACo Vision Healthy,NACo’s vibrant, VISION: safe and HEALTHY,resilient counties VIBRANT, across the United SAFE, States AND RESILIENT COUNTIES ACROSS THE NACo’s Mission The National Association of Counties (NACo) assists America’s counties in pursuing excellence in public service by advancing sound public policy, promoting peer learning and accountability, fostering intergovernmental and public- private collaboration, and providing value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.

Founded in 1935, NACo provides the elected and appointed leaders from the nation’s 3,069 counties with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to provide fiscally responsible, quality-driven, and results oriented policies and services for healthy, vibrant, safe, and fiscally resilient counties.

NACo’s MISSION

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo assists America’s 3,069 counties in pursuing excellence in public service to produce healthy, vibrant, safe and resilient counties. NACo promotes sound public policies, fosters county solutions and innovation, promotes intergovernmental and public-private collaboration and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.

SOURCES

The annual investments are 2007 figures. NACo Analysis of Census of Governments’ Data, 2007; NACo Data on county elected officials, April 2014; NACo Analysis of U.S. DOT Data, 2011; U.S. DOT, 2012; NACo Analysis of U.S. FTA Data, 2011; NACo Analysis of U.S. FAA Data, 2010; NACo Analysis of American Hospital Directory Data, 2011; NACo Analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Data, April 2014; National Association of County and Health Officials, 2013; Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013; NACo Analysis of County Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, 2008-2010; NACo Analysis of U.S. Election Commission Data, 2012; U.S. Census, Population Division, Vintage 2013.

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